The myth of the greatest generation

I am sick of hearing about the so-called "Greatest Generation". This refers to the generation that fought the Second World War, built up the great American economic machine and gave us peace and prosperity. This is utter nonsense and a myth that we should wake up to.

There was no great accomplishment in the barbaric war that the "great generation" got themselves into. Millions of people were killed unnecessarily including millions of innocent civilians, women, and children. Many were killed in horrific, previously unimaginable ways; carpet bombing, firebombing and atomic bombing. Cities like Dresden and Hiroshima, and Nagasaki were wiped off the face of the earth. People were incinerated. An alliance of socialists and communists defeated an alliance of socialists and dictators; big deal.

Young American men were sent off to the senseless wars to be killed and maimed in places like Iwo Jima and Normandy to kill other men to the enjoyment of fat German, Japanese, Italian, Russian, American and British politicians who were safe from harm.

Peace was never an option for the "greatest generation"; the thrill and glory of war eliminated any possibility of any rational thinking.

That "great generation" proclaims that it liberated Europe from the German Nazis. But they turned over half of Europe to a brutal Stalinist dictatorship and Soviet Occupation for the next 50 years. The rest of Europe was built around a lesser form of socialism. It introduced nuclear weapons and set the stage for eternal nuclear confrontation and terror.

That "great generation" paid for their economic irresponsibility by sending the bill to their grandchildren and created the biggest Ponzi scheme in history; social security. They adopted the same socialist mentality of the enemy they defeated.

That "great generation" perpetrated racist acts against African-Americans and created a burdensome immigration system to keep out unwanted foreigners although many of that generation had just immigrated themselves.

That "great generation" wasted the economic boom that resulted from the destruction of Europe and Asia. Instead of carefully managing the vast wealth they obtained, they wasted it on pointless government spending and foreign militaristic adventures.

Freedom was never an option for the "greatest generation"; the thrill and glory of centralized planning and never ending government expansion eliminated any possibility of rational thinking.

When I see movies or hear stories about World War II, I see wasteful, senseless, useless barbarism that liberated no one and enslaved the entire world into a way of thinking we have yet to evolve from. I see no glory or triumph in the brutality of what men do to each other. The people of the "greatest generation" are dying; and when the last one is gone, the world will be a better place.

Michael Patrick Schmitt is a corporate consultant and an attorney at law admitted in New York State. He is a member of the National Libertarian Party, the New York State Conservative Party and the Foundation for Economic Education. He has a BS in Physics, an MBA in Finance from St. John's University and a Law Degree from Hofstra University. He is also a licensed Real Estate Associate Broker. Michael is an advocate for freedom and capitalism.